Everyday Food For Everyday People

I think my all time favourite indulgent treat is cinnamon rolls. I never ever thought a basic cinnamon roll could be outdone until I tried them with chocolate! I'll let you be the judge. So, take a look below and if you love cinnamon rolls, you just have to make them!

Can somebody please tell me how September is just whizzing by so quickly? We are already well into the second week and I feel like it's still summer. Well, to be fair it still hot, the kids haven't gone back to school yet and my husband is on vacation. So, still feeling like full on summer around here.

But if you know me and you visit the blog, you will know that I'm full on ready for fall! All the pumpkin spice right now, bring it on!!! Please send a cold breeze and and crisp leaf or two. I'm not hard to please, I'm really not, but I am ready for a new season.

More than a new season, I'm ready for all the fall food. I know I talked about that in one of my recent posts, but that's how ready I am for the departure of the plus 30 temperatures. And this year when winter hits, I'm not going to complain about the cold kitchen, or the freezing car at 8:00 am, or even the dark sky by dinner time. Really, I'm not.

Anyway, unlike me, I don't really have much to talk about today. I seem to be stuck for words lately and that't not a great thing when you write a blog. So be it, a food blog, but you have all probably gotten used to my idle chit chat about totally randomness. But at the moment, my mind is drawing a blank and I'm blaming it on the heat. The heat shall pass and my voice will return....ha!

So for now, we're getting straight to these Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls. All I can say is OMG! Yes, that good. I am a sucker for a good cinnamon roll. And I felt like I perfected them with my Cinnamon Bun recipe that has been on the blog for a few years now. And those are delicious! I have made them over and over and every time they are so good.

​They honest to goodness remind me of the cinnamon buns from Cinnabon. Those were my go to treat when I lived in Brampton something like a lifetime ago. I blamed that place for my weight gain that year. But well worth every single pound. If you have never been to a Cinnabon and there's one in your area, get you shoes on and track them down! If you don't live near a Cinnabon, keep reading and you won't be disappointed.

Notes about the Cinnamon Rolls:

Okay, let's get to it!

First of all, these are not made in a hurry. From start to finish you are looking at about three hours. Yes, that sounds painful, I know. But they are worth it 100%. Besides most of that time is rising time for the dough. These are a double rise cinnamon roll recipe and that takes time. Again, I promise, you won't be disappointed.

Remember how I talk about baking time? Well, these baked perfectly in just 20 minutes. But again, check them to see if they need a bit longer. They will be golden and still soft to touch. You don't want to over bake them as this will dry them out. So keep an eye on them.

I used semi sweet chocolate chunks in this recipe, but chocolate chips would work as well.

When you are making the dough, it will be sticky. I find the best way to work with sticky dough, is to flour your hands. It works a treat and you will be able to manage your dough without adding more flour to it. Also, when I am rolling out soft dough, I usually use the rolling pin to roll it up and flip it over to make sure it rolls out evenly. If that makes any kind of sense.

I usually lightly score the pastry before cutting it after they are rolled up. Just to try and make them even. As you can see below, I don't do very well in that department...ha! If you want to be a perfectionist, you could even use a ruler. I'm not that fussy, so I usually just wing it.

That really is about it for the Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls. They are totally delicious and worth all the time while the dough is rising.

In a saucepan set over high heat, bring the milk to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the sugar, salt and melted butter. Stir and remove from heat. Leave it until it is lukewarm.

In a large bowl, add the yeast to the warm water. Stir and leave it for just a few minutes. When the milk has cooled enough, pour it into the yeast mixture along with 1/2 of the flour and the beaten egg. Stir to combine until you have a smooth batter. Mix in the rest of the flour. You should have a slightly sticky dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and start to knead it. Do this until the dough becomes quite elastic and bounces back when pressed. Probably about 8 minutes or so. Put the dough back in the large bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Put the dough in a warm place to rise. It will be ready in about one or 1 1/2 hours.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out into a large rectangle. Mine was probably about 10 x 16 inches. Drizzle over the brown sugar mixture and spread it out over the dough. Evenly sprinkle over your chocolate chips or chunks. Roll it up and cut it into 12 slices. Grease a 10 x 10 inch baking dish. Place the rolls in the pan evenly spaced out. Cover them again and return them to a warm space to rise. About another hour.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 10 minutes. While the rolls are cooling, make your glaze. Mix together the powered sugar, milk and vanilla. Pour it over the rolls. Garnish with chocolate shavings if desired.

These are great hot straight out of the oven. Or, you can cover them, refrigerate and rewarm when you would like. They will keep for a couple of days.